Essay On Rape Trauma

Spitalnick, Josh. Difede, JoAnn. Rizzo, Albert. O. Rothbaum, Barbara. “Emerging treatments for PTSD” Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 29, Issue 8, December 2009, Pages 715-726, ISSN 0272-7358, Web. 21 April 2016

Being sexually assaulted as a child and teenager can ruin your life. As a child, you, really don’t

By telling the story of young men coming of age in a boarding school during the critical early years of World War II, John Knowles reveals several effects of war. In his novel, Separate Peace, Knowles illuminates some of the more commonly known consequences of war, but he also neglects to discuss a few other proven impacts of war. Additionally, Knowles expresses the influence that mental illnesses can have on soldiers, the repercussions of rations on society, the changes in the school system, and the effect on the work force in America. The story artfully details these results of war, while never touching on a few other ramifications of war, like the influence on a family.

The looks I get when people ask ‘what I do’ and I proceed to tell them that I am a rape crisis therapist is quite telling. Many people give me a look that’s a mix of horror and pity. And most of them are not interested in learning any more about what I do; in fact, they are pretty quick to change the subject. I suppose this is due to the continued discomfort and stigma that surrounds rape. Being an advocate for sexual assault and not wanting to lose any opportunity to educate and raise awareness, I just as quickly let them know that I am very happy with what I do because I get to see women and men heal from a very traumatic time in their lives. I get to facilitate and bear witness to this transformation that happens while someone is in therapy. To say that my career is rewarding would be an understatement, after nine and half years of this work, it is a fundamental part of my identity.

Modern treatments for rape trauma syndrome include cognitive, behavioral, and exposure components. The specific protocols of cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure have both been demonstrated to be effective in treating posttraumatic stress disorder and common comorbid disorders, like depression, anxiety, guilt, and anger (Resick, Williams, Suvak, Monson, & Gradus, 2012, p. 202). Existential therapy, person-centered counseling, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing are underlying philosophies and techniques investigated. It can prove difficult to find empirically-supported treatments because the research is often not explicitly experimental, and there is a limitation to sampling. Examining different types of standard treatments used with female survivors of rape is necessary to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of

This treatment approach is based on cognitive and learning theories, tackling-misleading beliefs related to the traumatic events of acknowledgments related to the abuse and provides a supportive environment of which individuals are encouraged to talk about their traumatic experience. A numerous amount of research has been carried out to investigate into how effective CBT really can be for PTSD. (Resick et al, 2002) carried out an investigation comparing CBT with strong cognitive restructuring focus and CBT with a strong exposure focus and to a waiting-list control of rape survivors. Prior to this experiment approximately 80% of patients who completed either form of CBT no longer met the criteria for PTSD. Once this investigation was complete a follow up treatment took place of which it was noted 2% of the waiting list group had lost the PTSD diagnoses. Only a year after this investigation Bryant, Moulds, Guthrie, Dang & Nixon, (2003) restructured the experiment comparing exposure alone, exposure plus cognitive restructuring, and supportive counselling in civilians with PTSD resulting from various traumatic events. At this particular follow up 65-80% of participants who either completed either form of CBT were now clear of PTSD diagnosis, compared to less than 40% of those who completed supportive counselling.

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

This is a presentation of findings from the literature review with focus on rape and sexual violence/assault and its survivors. Extensive literature search was conducted on relevant concepts that include the definition of rape, sexual violence and assault, consequences of rape and sexual violence/assault, provision of health services. The search looked at developed and developing countries as well as war stricken settings. Therefore, the aim was to understand the burden of rape and sexual violence, its consequences and provision of health services for survivors and constitutional narrative relating to rape and sexual violence.

What is rape, and to whom does it happen? Generally speaking, rape is a violent sexual act imposed on a nonconsenting partner that makes you question many things about yourself. Unfortunately the mythology usually surrounding rape is that it only happens to women. The fact is, rape does not only happen to women, but men as well. It is one of the most misunderstood of all crimes, and when the victim is male, understanding why it has happened, is one of the hardest things to comprehend.

Rape is an experience which shakes the foundations of the lives of the victims. For many its effect is long term, impairing their capacity for personal relationships, altering their behaviour and values and generating fear, Temkin (1986:17).

Even though the first amendment states freedom of expression, statistics show rape and sexual assault numbers have risen due to the presence of rape culture in modern society. Rape culture promotes more assaults and violent acts, not only towards women but also towards men. Some evidence rape culture is present in today’s society are rising statistics showing that only three out of a hundred rapists see jail time and that over 17 million American women are victims of sexual assault every year. Rape culture is seen in every aspect of daily American life, even if people do not realize it.

Two treatment models that are used for survivors of PTSD are Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and spirituality. The effectiveness of these two treatment models are supported by several resources. Resick (2001) notes that “CPT is a manualized, 12-session, specific form of CBT for PTSD that has a primary focus on cognitive interventions.” The first session of CPT is

Most people think that rape is about sex but it is not. If rape was about getting sex the person would just go and have sex with someone who wants to give it to them. Paying for sex is better than going out and raping someone. Rape is also called sexual assault. Rape is about having power and control over someone. Rape is defined as one person forcing another person, without his or her consent and using violence or threatening violence, to have intercourse or other forms of sexual activity. Usually when people hear about rape they think of a man raping a woman, but rape can happen to anyone. It is one of the worst things that can happen to someone. Some people think that rape is

There once was a deep forest with the largest tower any unisexed individual ever laid eyes upon. In this tower, there was an incredibly handsome individual named Raphael. Raphael had delicate blue eyes, toned muscles, a nicely shaped fade, - oh - and a one hundred foot beard. His testosterone levels were surly through the roof.

College-age adults are known to be high risk for sexual violence and most studies show that one in three women have experiences some type of sexual assault whether it was through physical force or harassment. These statics are known by most women on college campuses to ensure that women know and understand that this could happen to them. The issue is more than ensuring that women are aware of how protect themselves and know how to avoid these situations because it shouldn’t even be happening. When women are taught that they should know how to defend themselves we are saying that this type of behavior is normal and inevitable. We should shift from this dynamic and start teaching both men and women that this behavior is completely unacceptable and that sexually assaulting or harassing someone is NOT normal. This paper will mostly focus on incidents of rape and sexual assault on college campuses and what the outcome and reactions of these incidents were.